


Complacency

by Fernon



Series: Beginnings [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Model Kim Mingyu, Model Mingyu, Soft Jeon Wonwoo, Soonhoon - Freeform, but not really emo, emo wonwoo, i only hinted at soonhoon though, if you squint at the beginning you can maybe see some angst, like really slight - Freeform, meanie, music lover Wonwoo, music shop owner Wonwoo, slight angst, the fluffiest thing you've ever read, verkwan, very side verkwan, very small references to sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 19:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15516840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernon/pseuds/Fernon
Summary: Wonwoo thought his settling was just contentment. But Jihoon says he's complacent. Wonwoo is out to change that, and have new adventures- new adventures with Mingyu.(You do not need to read the other works in this series for it to make sense, it's just all set in the same universe)





	Complacency

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this takes part in the same universe as Clumsy, as in, it's all the same universe of characters. Except you don't really need to read Clumsy to know what's happening in this one.
> 
> Side note: I started planning some other stories one shots in this same universe, so look forward to that?
> 
> Sorry its so long, I got a bit carried away.
> 
> I also made Wonwoo a hardcore fluffball romantic guy. He's basically a whole cheeseball. 
> 
> Sorry again for any inaccuracies, I didn't edit this at all before I posted it. Shout out to Hobi again, for hyping me on this, and helping me out with some stuff.

            “ _Complacency: a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger or defect.”_ Wonwoo was complacent. Everyone knew it and saw it. Except him. He just thought he was content. He was okay with everything he had in life. His music shop was running well, and it paid the bills. He was okay with only having a few friends, and not meeting new people.

            Rarely was Wonwoo’s life changed in any way, but the day he met Mingyu was one of those days that truly shakes things up and makes life interesting. At least for a little while, anyways.

The day he met Mingyu, who was a complete stranger at the time, had broken him from his routine, and added something new to his life. They had met at a Panic! At the Disco concert, when Mingyu had tickets for the seats next to him. Wonwoo nearly had a heart attack, because Mingyu, the most gorgeous man he had ever seen, decided to strike up a conversation with _him_ of all people. Wonwoo couldn’t believe it. Both because Wonwoo felt inferior to the gorgeous person before him, and because he was the biggest introvert. Which, he still is.

            They had both talked through both the opening acts, and Wonwoo had met Mingyu’s friends- Jeonghan and Soonyoung. Somehow, Mingyu’s friends let him have one too many beers at said concert, and Mingyu began to drunkenly flirt with Wonwoo. Wonwoo was flustered, and slightly upset because he honestly thought Mingyu was only being this flirtatious with him because he was drunk. By the end of Panic! At the Disco’s act, Mingyu had grabbed Wonwoo and kissed him- more like made out with him, Wonwoo himself was slightly tipsy- and asked for his number. Drunken Wonwoo complied, and the next morning, Wonwoo woke up to a text asking exactly why his number was in Mingyu’s phone.

            And here they are, three years later. They had only been dating for two years, after Mingyu had apologized for being so forward, explaining that he flirted a lot when he was drunk, but asking if they could be friends and get to know each other for a while. Wonwoo accepted, but couldn’t help but feel upset, because his first instinct was correct, it was just a thing Mingyu does when he’s drunk. But Mingyu did end up admitting on their first date that he remembers thinking that Wonwoo was cute when he rushed down their row of seats after coming out of the merch line.

            Wonwoo is really the only one who remembers the part about Mingyu making out with him at the concert, and Mingyu insists that because ‘he doesn’t remember, it didn’t happen.’ Especially when it came to them having their ‘first’ kiss, when Wonwoo took Mingyu on a picnic in the mountains for the day. That was their sixth date, and that was after they had been friends for almost a year. It was a fun time, and Mingyu had loved it, even if he wasn’t all that into camping and hiking and other ‘outdoorsy-stuff’. Mingyu is definitely a city boy.

            But that’s all that came from his new relationship with Mingyu. And now, the two had been living together for close to a year now, ten months, if Wonwoo remembers correctly, and nothing else had happened. He had grown complacent again. He had Jihoon, his best friend, and Mingyu, and that’s all he felt he needed.

            Wonwoo was content with his relationship, and he had been for the last two years. Now here he sat, in his music shop with his best friend and sort-of co-worker, Jihoon. Jihoon came in everyday when he was done teaching at the school in the poor part of the city, and taught music lessons in Wonwoo’s music shop.

“How long has that kid been coming here? And she still hasn’t learned a thing.” Jihoon groans and bonks his head on the counter in exasperation. “Why did I agree to do this?” He whines.

            “Because you insist that teaching doesn’t pay rent on its own, but it does, you’re just trying to save up to renovate the kitchen, so it’s just like Soonyoung wants.” Wonwoo states. Jihoon, to this day, insists that his roommate of almost a year and a half, is just his roommate, but everyone wants them to get together, and it’s obvious that Jihoon likes the other. Wonwoo doesn’t know anyone else that Jihoon would bend over backwards for, except Soonyoung.

            “Oh, shut up. We’re both going to be using the kitchen, it’s not just for Soonyoung.” Jihoon mumbles.

            “Really? Even though it’s going to have that extra counterspace and the big oven for Soonyoung to bake in? And you’ve said, and I quote, ‘I don’t care what the kitchen looks like, so long as it works, since I only know how to microwave frozen dinners and make toast.’ So don’t pretend that you use the kitchen ever.”

            “Wonwoo really? I share an apartment with this guy, I should be contributing just as much to the home renovations as he is.”

            “And how long are you going to keep living with him, Wooz? You’ll want to leave the apartment and get a real house someday, and be able to start a family, instead of living in a loft with someone who’s ‘ _just your roommate.’_ Or what happens if Soonyoung moves out? You’re stuck with this fancy kitchen you don’t even know how to use.” Wonwoo smirks, knowing he’s getting under Jihoon’s skin now. He hates being called Woozi, but it’s a name he’s been stuck with since he drunk-emailed all his friends in college about how his mom used to call him that when he was twelve.

            “What are you, my father?! And don’t call me that, you brat.” Jihoon pouts. Despite his angry aura that he gives out, he’s actually pretty soft, when it comes to things like kids. Jihoon once also drunkenly told Wonwoo that he wants to be a father one day, and to start a family of his own. He just likes being able to be a positive in the life of youths, since he knows they have the power to change the world, when they grow up. He wants to show them something good, and spread some happiness in the world, even if it’s to kids who are tone deaf, don’t have sense of rhythm, and Jihoon has the shortest patience span in the history of forever.

            “I will call you what I want, Woozi,” Wonwoo smirks again, at the man sitting next to him, the one he shared a dorm with throughout his college career. Jihoon just rolled his eyes at Wonwoo.

            “Well, it looks like that was my last lesson for the evening. What are you up to after you close? Which is in… 30 minutes.” Jihoon looks at Wonwoo.

            “Wait really? I thought it was still only 5.” Wonwoo checks the time and sees that it is, indeed, almost 6, and they close at 6. Then there’s about half an hour’s worth of cleaning things up and locking up shop for the night. “Guess so. Mingyu and I are going to dinner. We met three years ago today. We’re celebrating that.” Wonwoo smiles.

            “God, you two are so cheesy. Speaking of you and Mingyu, since you chewed me out about my future once today, when are you going to put a ring on it?” Jihoon raises an eyebrow. Wonwoo blinks. Put a ring on it? As in, marry Mingyu? Wonwoo had never put any thought behind that.

            “Uh….” Wonwoo just stares at Jihoon, wide-eyed.

            “So eloquent. You might want to start thinking about that, yourself, Wonwoo. Life is short. Mingyu is a go-getter, Wonwoo. He’s going to want more, and soon, I think. He doesn’t want the same old routine. And you’re stuck in the same old routine. It sounds harsh, but we’ve all noticed it. You’re either reading or you’re in this shop… I just worry for you, Mingyu. I don’t want to watch you waste your life and be happy…”

            “He hasn’t said anything…” Wonwoo tries, halfheartedly.

            “Not verbally. Just consider it, Wonwoo... Anyways, I’m going home. Bye, Wonwoo.” Jihoon grabs his guitar case and heads out. Wonwoo sits there at the front counter in shock. What _does_ he want? He loves Mingyu, it’s just that… he’s been content with things. Content with life. But that’s how he’s always been. Content. He settles into routine, and he’s comfortable with it. He’s never really wanted more out of life.

            That thought hits Wonwoo like a ton of bricks. What does he want? And what does _Mingyu_ want? Wonwoo closes up halfheartedly, feeling conflicted and now considering his life choices. How much of his life has gone by, and he hasn’t _done_ anything? Why is he just letting it pass him by? Wonwoo shakes his head and goes home, just wanting to see Mingyu’s face.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Wonwoo and Mingyu head to the same restaurant they usually do for dinner, and the waiters greet them happily, since they’re regulars here- they usually come here for date nights, here or the Olive Garden twenty minutes away, and then a movie. Some point over their food, Mingyu brings up the topic of marriage.

            “My cousin’s wedding is in three weeks, just to remind you. So you’ll have to close the shop early that Saturday.” Mingyu says softly, before taking in another spoonful of the soup he ordered.

            “Oh. Okay. I’ll have to let Jihoon know so he doesn’t schedule any lessons for that day.” Wonwoo simply nods.

            “Wonwoo? Have you… ever thought about getting married? Not even just with me, just… in general. What would you plan it like?” Mingyu looks at him, and Wonwoo nearly chokes on the grilled sandwich he was just chewing.

            “M-marriage? I guess I haven’t really thought about it much… I wouldn’t want anything big… Probably just my immediate family and my aunts and uncles… And Jihoon is really my only friend, so him too I guess…” Wonwoo mumbles.

            “I think small weddings are nice. It’s not so wild and full of people. I want to get married somewhere scenic, and outside. Not in a church or anything like most people would. And I want to get married in the fall. Think of all the colors of the trees! It would be gorgeous…” Mingyu’s whole face lights up, like the thought of his wedding day is the most important thing in his life.

            “But you don’t like the outdoors…?” Wonwoo’s voice is a bit shaky, and he’s starting to feel frantic. Does Mingyu want to get _married?_ Or is this actually just casual conversation like he’s playing it off to be? Would Mingyu even want to marry Wonwoo?

            “I can handle it in smaller amounts. And I like the beach. I just don’t like camping. I could go out for a day or something and be okay.” Mingyu lets out a quiet soft laugh, almost a giggle.

            “Oh… Right.” Wonwoo says, staring down at his half-eaten flatbread.

            “You almost done? We could go to the movies?” Mingyu suggests.

 The movies? Like any other night? Is that too routine? Would that be Wonwoo being complacent again? Wonwoo feels like panicking.

“No! Let’s… Let’s go to the beach or something….” Wonwoo suggests. Mingyu raises an eyebrow.

“That’s… Different. But I’m okay with that.” Mingyu’s look of confusion turns into one of happiness.

“A-and let’s order a bottle of wine! And dessert!” Wonwoo scrambles to come up with things that aren’t in the ordinary for the couple.

“Ooh! We’re getting fancy now!” Mingyu’s grin gets brighter, and at this point he’s beaming. He lets out a small giggle. “Excuse me, waiter! Can we get a dessert and wine menu?” Mingyu waves down a passing waiter, who complies and brings them a menu to look at. They agree on a sweet red wine, of some sort, and a rich cake of some sort.

 -    -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

The two of them stroll down the beach later, hand in hand, happy and full of good food. Wonwoo can’t seem to shake the feeling of how complacent he is, and how much of his life has gone by.

“Something on your mind?” Mingyu looks concerned, noting that Wonwoo’s thinking face is on.

“Am I… boring?” Wonwoo says suddenly.

“Boring? What makes you think that?” Mingyu is taken aback by the bluntness of Wonwoo’s question.

“I just… I’m so content with having a routine, and we’ve been at the same place for so long and I just feel like I’m not… I’m not doing enough. We go on the same date every three weeks, and I work the same job all the time. And you’re off being a model and doing all these cool things and meeting all these new people and making new friends and traveling to cool places for fashion shows, with all these hot, cool, guys, and I’m here, in the same city I’ve always been, working the same hours 5 days a week in the same shop, just reading whatever book I find at the library, and going to my book club on Tuesdays… I’m boring, Mingyu. I’m complacent.”

“Wonwoo, babe. Is this about the marriage thing? I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I’m okay with not getting married-”

“No, Gyu, it’s not that! I just- I’ve noticed it… You were so excited that I suggested something else tonight instead of a movie, and so happy when I suggested wine and dessert after dinner, and- and Jihoon made me realize that maybe I’m weighing you down, you do so much, and I don’t do anything, and I don’t want to make you feel like you’re wasting your life on me…”

“What are you talking about? Wonwoo, if I thought I was wasting my life on you I would have left a long time ago. I like being with you. You’re the calm after the storm, you’re so mellow and you know what you’re doing. You’re a break from the hectic place that I work, and I _love_ that. I love knowing that I can come home and you’ll be there with tea and your latest book, and that we can cuddle on the couch while I catch up on shows and eat leftovers from the night before. You’re comfortable, Wonwoo, and that’s how you make me feel. I love that feeling. It’s calming.”

“You don’t want more? You don’t want to go on adventures, even just once in a while, and see new places and have me at your side?”

“I mean it’d be nice once in a while-” Mingyu begins, seeming a bit sheepish that he’s even saying that.

“See! You do want change! You want more!” Wonwoo runs a hand through his hair- something he does when he’s stressed, and then paces a bit, for all of three laps, while Mingyu tries to reach out for him and tell him that ‘ _it’s okay,’_ when Wonwoo suddenly snaps and looks around. “No one is on the beach. Let’s go skinny dipping.”

Mingyu frowns upon seeing the look in Wonwoo’s eyes. It’s frantic, and wild. “Wonwoo, that’s not a good idea-”

            “Nobody is here! It’s just us and it’s dark out! Let’s go! We’ll be spontaneous!” Wonwoo’s hands are trembling slightly as he starts kicking his shoes off and tugging at his socks.

            “Wonwoo, no! You’re panicking, babe. You’re not comfortable with doing this, you need to relax, please…”

            Panicking? Mingyu was right. Wonwoo’s heart is racing a mile a minute and he feels like he could cry, at the thought of Mingyu being unhappy and wanting more than Wonwoo. Wonwoo is panicking because he can’t lose Mingyu. Mingyu, whether Wonwoo realized it in these exact words, is what they call ‘the love of your life.’ In that moment, all Wonwoo knew, was that Mingyu was the one. The one he couldn’t lose, the one he couldn’t be complacent about.

            Wonwoo wanted to marry Mingyu.

            “Babe…?” Mingyu sets a hand on Wonwoo’s arm, and Wonwoo is trembling, and a few tears are falling down his cheeks, and Wonwoo just hugs the other, sniffling quietly, his heart slowing as Mingyu’s words sink in. Mingyu wants more, but he doesn’t care that Wonwoo is content with life. Mingyu loves Wonwoo.

            “Gyu? I’m sorry I’m boring… I want to be more adventurous, though… I just want my adventures to be with you…” Wonwoo’s voice is quiet, and a bit shaky.

            “That’s fine, love. I’d love to join you on your adventures. But skinny dipping is not an adventure I want to go on, nor is it an adventure you want to go on. I can tell.” Mingyu gives him a knowing look. Wonwoo blushes just a bit, feeling ridiculous.

            “Yeah…. You’re right…”

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            “Where are we going, Wonwoo?” Mingyu’s brows furrow when he notices that Wonwoo passes the entrance to the city park, where he had promised they were going on their lunch date.

            “On an adventure?” Wonwoo smiles, and Mingyu shakes his head, clearly smiling in the passenger’s seat.

            “Guess I’ll take your word for it then.”

            Wonwoo drives for about an hour, singing along to the radio, and then takes a turn up to the mountains, where he and Mingyu had their “first” kiss. Mingyu giggles as he realizes where they’re going.

            “What’s this?” He asks, swatting at Wonwoo’s arm.

            “This is where we’re going to have lunch and I’m going to dump you,” Wonwoo jokes.

            “Excuse me? We both know that if one of us is dumping the other, it’s going to be me dumping you. What’s really going on here?”

            “We’re having lunch here. I just wanted to be adventurous. I packed us a picnic and everything. And then we can go and explore the shops in town, yeah?”

            “That sounds amazing!” Mingyu beams. “Gosh, you’re so romantic.”

            “I’m not romantic, I’m Wonwoo.” Wonwoo grins at his own cheesy humor.

            Mingyu snorts. “Lame.”

            “I’m not lame. I’m Wonwoo! Why don’t you know my name!? We’ve been dating for two years and we’ve known each other for three!” Wonwoo feigns a pout. He pulls up to the park in the parking lot and shuts the car off. “Hope you’re up for a bit of a hike! We can’t drive any further into the park.” He gets out and hurries to grab Mingyu’s door for him, and then helps him out of the car, before he grabs the picnic basket and locks the car.

            “I hate hikes. And your jokes. But I’ll deal with it for now.” Mingyu says, and then they’re off, and soon they pick a good spot to eat, and set up their picnic.

            Soon after they’re done eating, they pack up and go on a short stroll around, Mingyu stopping to admire the pebbles in the road occasionally. “Look! This one is stripy! And this one looks like a heart! And this one is smooth and dark! It’s so pretty! Oh! Look! A daisy!” Mingyu beams and picks the wild flower and holds it up to Wonwoo. “Let’s find more!”

            Wonwoo just smiles fondly as Mingyu darts around the small grassy area, picking little daisies and weaving them together. Finally, he runs back over to Wonwoo and plops the ring of daisies on his head. “You’re so pretty, Wonwoo! You look like a princess.” Mingyu giggles and kisses Wonwoo’s cheek. Wonwoo looks down at the ripped blue jeans he’s wearing, as well as the black My Chemical Romance tee, and the bright red converse he has on.

            “Flower crowns don’t really match my… aesthetic, babe.” Wonwoo chuckles and tries to take the crown off, but Mingyu swats his hand.

            “It stays. It totally goes with the whole… eyeliner and band tees thing! It’s cute! I love it!” Mingyu beams, and kisses Wonwoo on the lips quickly. “Now let’s go somewhere where I can take cute pictures of you for my Instagram! You can be the model this time!”

            “Gyu, really? I’m not…” Wonwoo can’t find the words.

            “Not what, Won?” Mingyu’s head tilts to the side in questioning.

            “I dunno… Hot and Instagram worthy? At least not for all your cool model friends…” Wonwoo mumbles, feeling nervous.

            “Won, stop being shy. I post pictures of you all the time! Everyone thinks you’re cute.” He smiles the brightest smile that Wonwoo has ever seen. Wonwoo’s face flushes at that comment.

            “You do?”

            “Yep! You just never go on Instagram.” Mingyu smiles. “Now come on! I can get a cute lockscreen out of this!”

            They wander until they find a rocky area with a gorgeous view of the mountains, and Wonwoo can’t help but feel the urge to climb all over the rocks, and so he does, hopping up onto giant slabs of stone and walking around, all while Mingyu stays back, and snaps pictures.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            After the little ‘photoshoot’ Wonwoo had, the two decide to head back to the car so they could go into the town and look around the shops. They go into a few little shops, picking up the occasional trinket, and then they head into a pastry shop and get a little raspberry cake to share, which they enjoy on a bench under a tree, chatting happily. Happily, that is, until Wonwoo looks up across the road, and gasps, jumping off the bench.

            “What was that for?!” Mingyu exclaims, and Wonwoo bounces excitedly, pointing at the shop across the road.

            “In the window! They have kittens! We _have_ to go look! Please!” Wonwoo is practically begging. Mingyu laughs, not believing just how cute his boyfriend is.

            “Alright, once we finish our dessert, okay?” Mingyu smiles when Wonwoo complies and sits back down, scarfing down the rest of his half of the raspberry treat. Mingyu finishes his at a human-like speed, while Wonwoo bounces excitedly. He hardly has the last bite in his mouth when Wonwoo grabs his hand and starts tugging him off the bench.

            Mingyu throws the little paper bag into a nearby garbage can and follows Wonwoo across the street into the little quilt shop, with the box of kittens in the window. Wonwoo pretends to browse around the shop, containing his excitement to the best of his ability, slowly making his way towards the box that’s emitting little mews.

            An older lady appears from the back room, a little square of a blanket in her hands, as well as a needle and thread. “Hello! Welcome! Can I help you?”

            “May we please look at the kittens?” Mingyu asks, and Wonwoo just bounces excitedly. The lady smiles, the wrinkles by her eyes scrunching up happily.

            “Of course! They’re free, if you’d like them. I only have two left, and I’m moving, in a few days, so I’m afraid my new apartment will only be big enough for their mother cat.” The lady explains. “I’d keep them if I could, I just worry the apartment wouldn’t be good for their energy levels.”

            Mingyu nods and looks over at Wonwoo, who is already busy playing with the kittens, fully enthralled with the tiny fluffballs. Mingyu smiles. “I’ll have to consider it. Wonwoo here loves cats. May I look around at some of the quilts you have? Or anything else you’ve made?”

            Mingyu looks around at everything and settles on a little bookbag and two small quilts. He looks over to see Wonwoo is now cradling two sleeping kittens to his chest, smiling warmly. Mingyu’s heart melts, and he can’t help but be reminded of how much he loves Wonwoo. He wants nothing more than to be with him forever.

            Mingyu would marry Wonwoo one day, no matter what.

            For now, though, he thought that maybe they should start a little family of their own. With a smile, he makes his way to Wonwoo, and kisses his cheek. “What are we naming them?”

            “Wait- wait, we’re getting them?!” Wonwoo whispers, afraid to wake the kittens.

            “I mean, I wouldn’t mind it, if you’re okay with it,” Mingyu smiles.

            “Of course I’m okay with it! I love them!” Wonwoo’s face glows, the biggest smile Mingyu has ever seen growing on the other’s face.

            “Alright. I have to go pay for this, and then we’ll head home, okay?”

            “Okay!” Wonwoo snuggles the kittens closer to his chest, and sighs happily.

            Mingyu pays for his bag and his new quilts, which he really bought for the kittens, and Wonwoo begs him to drive, so he could sit in the backseat with the kittens. Mingyu chuckles and complies, but not without pressing a kiss to Wonwoo’s forehead. Quickly, the two of them load up the car, and they’re off.

            After twenty minutes of driving, Mingyu glances at Wonwoo in the rearview mirror, to see him soundly asleep with the two kittens snuggled up to him in the backseat. Mingyu gets that warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest, happy with his life.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            “A craft night? You want to do a craft night?” Mingyu stares at Wonwoo incredulously.

            “I just… I thought we could try it? It’s just at the library… It would give me a chance to meet new people! And it could just be another activity for us to do together…?” Wonwoo tries timidly, as the white and gray kitten, Paisley, purrs and rubs her head against his chest. Chevron, her brother, who’s an orange tabby, is currently sitting in Mingyu’s lap. Mingyu sighs.

            “Alright… I just didn’t think crafts were your speed, babe.”

            “They’re not… But I thought it sounded cute. They’re making birdhouses this week! I also met a guy at the library today. Well, more like he tripped into me. He broke his ankle and I think he’s the clumsiest person I’ve ever met. His name is Vernon. Or Hansol. I dunno, he told me to call him whichever. He likes books too! And he’s coming to the craft night.” Wonwoo babbles, scratching Paisley behind her ear.

            “I’m glad to see you branching out.” Mingyu offers the other man a smile and kisses his cheek. “I’m going to go start dinner.”

            “Thanks babe!” Wonwoo watches as Mingyu sets Chevron down on the couch beside Wonwoo and heads to the kitchen. “Good thing he said yes, since I already signed us up, huh, Paisley?” Wonwoo whispers to the kitten. She simply chirps in response and jumps from his lap when the familiar sound of food pouring into her dish in the kitchen is heard.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Craft night was going well, for everyone at Wonwoo’s table. Everyone except Vernon, whose birdhouse looked like it had been stuck in a hurricane. At one point he and his friend Joshua had the tiniest of arguments, over Wonwoo and Mingyu’s neighbor, Seungkwan. Wonwoo was pretty sure that Seungkwan liked Vernon, since he often chatted with Seungkwan when he went outside to get the mail in the mornings. Seungkwan had told him of a cute, clumsy boy who had been to see him twice now, and how he heard all those things that the clumsy boy was saying about him. Seungkwan frequently called the guy cute and got all smiley when he talked about things.

            Wonwoo didn’t particularly like Seungkwan, for the simple fact that Wonwoo didn’t typically like people he wasn’t comfortable with, and the fact that when Seungkwan was excited about something, he got loud. Wonwoo thought Seungkwan was a lovely person, he just didn’t like being around him for extended or frequent amount of times.

            Wonwoo also wasn’t fond of Vernon’s friend Joshua, for the sole fact that he was a new person. Wonwoo couldn’t believe that he liked Vernon, considering how new he was to Wonwoo, but Wonwoo liked him. He felt that they had a lot in common. Suddenly Vernon stood up and then he went toppling down to the ground, an all the librarians and the other participants in craft night looked at him, worried and gasping in shock. A few hid giggles but showed some concern.

            Poor Vernon. He truly was a klutz. Joshua helped him to the bathroom, and they disappeared for a few minutes.

            “Wonwoo? Whatcha painting on your birdhouse?” Mingyu glanced over at Wonwoo’s little wooden box, which is currently a light blue color with a gray roof.

            “I’m trying to paint two little birds on it. Except I’m terrible at painting and drawing and pretty much anything art-related.” Wonwoo gestures to the tiny, slightly bird-shaped black blob on the side of the bird house. “And it’s supposed to look like our house. The birds are supposed to be us…”

            “Wonwoo that’s cute! Mine just looks like a little fairy house. It’s not special like yours.” Mingyu shrugs, and Wonwoo glances over at his little house. It’s a brown color, and Mingyu had painted it to look like it was made out of little logs, and covered it in little vines and leaves, adding little flowers here and there.

            “No! Yours is unique. It’s beautiful. I wish I had an ounce of your talent.” Wonwoo offers a sheepish smile, and Mingyu offers the tiniest smile back.

            “Thank you…”

            Wonwoo continues his painting, painting the two little birds in each window of the house, each one with a different picture of the birds. In one, he depicts them with a little heart over their head, and another where they both have little matching ties and little flowers on their heads, as well as the tiniest little white band on the tip of one of the wings, and another where they have some gray feathers and another heart over their heads and the same little white band on the wing. The paintings are amateur and a bit crude, but they’re good enough for one to tell that they’re birds.

            As a final detail, he takes his favorite color and paints a tiny ‘W’ on whichever birds are more misshapen, and then he takes Mingyu’s favorite color and paints a tiny ‘M’ on whatever birds look closer to perfection.

            “Mingyu! I’m done!” Wonwoo beams and points to the birdhouse, like a child showing off their art that they want hung on the fridge.

            “Wonwoo, that’s wonderful! Are the birds us…?” Mingyu asks tentatively, a small smile forming on his lips. Wonwoo nods proudly.

            “Yep! I always made sure you were the prettier bird. Cause you’re the good looking one for the two of us…” Wonwoo chuckles and rubs the back of his neck, like he’s nervous.

            “You goofball. I think you’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen… Are these birds married?” Mingyu giggles a little and points to the little band. “We’re not married, Won…” Mingyu looks up at Wonwoo, who just gets a stupid, goofy grin.

            “Someday we will be, I just know it.”

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            “Jihoon I need your help! I need a cute proposal idea for Mingyu!” Wonwoo begs. Jihoon rolls his eyes.

            “For the last time, Wonwoo! I’m not helping you propose! Why are you even asking someone who can’t even confess to their roommate that they’re head over heels in love with them?! Just stop asking, Wonwoo!” Jihoon snaps. He’s been in a bad mood all day, since Soonyoung brought a guy home last night.

            “Hey, calm down… I just thought- well… You write all that music and you know how to play an instrument and stuff… Can you at least help me with part of it?” Wonwoo looks at him, hopeful.

            “I’m not writing a song for you and your stupid boyfriend, Wonwoo.” Jihoon just sets his head on the front counter of the music shop, with a sad sigh.

            “No! I don’t want you to write it for me! I just… I want to learn how to write one… And how to play an instrument that isn’t the triangle…” Wonwoo looks sheepish again, offering the smallest of hopeful smiles.

            “Ask me again when I’m not feeling heartbroken.” Jihoon snaps.

            “Jihoon, please?” Wonwoo is begging now, just needing his friend’s help. Jihoon shakes his head. “I’ll pay you extra! Please, Jihoon! _Please_!”

            “Why, so I can pay rent on the new apartment I’m going to have to move to? I said no, Wonwoo. I’m not helping you propose to Mingyu with a song. That is quite literally the cheesiest and most overdone thing I think I’ve ever heard. Find something original. I’m going home for the day.” Jihoon grabs his bag and storms towards the door, and then stops. “I’m not going home. But I’m not helping you write a song.” He stomps back over and sits back on the stool and drops his bag back on the ground.

            Wonwoo sits for a minute, thinking about what Jihoon said. He was right. That proposal idea wasn’t original at all. It needed to be spontaneous, and original. It needs to be special. Like Mingyu is. He grabs the laptop out and begins searching for something, anything, that he and Mingyu could do, somewhere they could go, that would be special to them, and would stick with them forever.

            “What am I gonna do, Jihoon?” Wonwoo lets his head thunk down onto the counter.

            “Don’t ask me. I don’t know.” Is all Jihoon says.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Wonwoo finally had some semblance of a plan, even though nothing dealing with the actual _proposal_ was set in stone. He just knew that he had rented out his aunt’s cabin in the woods for a week and planned some cute date ideas. And he knew that at _some point_ in that week, he’d be proposing to Mingyu.

            But that was all he had.

            Mingyu, on the other hand, thought that a vacation in the woods in the middle of nowhere was a terrible idea. Mingyu, who was not an outdoorsy person, had no desire to sleep in the tiny shack of a log cabin he was picturing, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, scary, forest. “So you’re saying you want _me_ to sleep in a shack in the woods for a week? Where no one can hear you scream if a bear comes to try and eat you? And what _about_ the bears? What are we going to do about them? What if we _die_ out there! No one will know about it!” Mingyu’s panic is growing a bit, but Wonwoo just shakes his head.

            “Babe, my aunt’s cabin is _huge._ Like, five bedrooms, a finished basement, gorgeous open windows, kind of huge. And it has it’s own lake! Well, part of a lake. And it’s only a fifteen minute drive back into the city, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can always go back into the city and feel the pavement under your feet. Okay? It’ll be a wonderful time, I promise. And we can go out and have little adventures in the woods, she has two hiking trails near her that lead up to the bluffs, and it’s an amazing view. We could have another little photoshoot like you did when we got the kittens. I promise it’ll be a good time… Just trust me…” Wonwoo himself was feeling a tad bit panicked now that Mingyu was showing hesitation to go on the trip. _Shit, my plan is failing…_ Wonwoo is practically begging Mingyu to go on the trip.

            Mingyu sits for a few moments in silence, while Wonwoo’s heart races. “Alright, fine. But you’re packing my bags because I have no idea what to bring on a trip like this.” Wonwoo almost sighs in relief. “And I get to drive down to the city whenever I want. And you owe me a new sweater.”

            “Deal! I’ll give you my card and you can go down into the city on any one of the days you want, and pick out a new sweater for yourself. I promise.” Wonwoo beams, and Mingyu smiles.

            “Yay! Vacations!” Mingyu’s face is warm and full of happiness. Wonwoo loves Mingyu more than anything.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Ring shopping was a whole other ordeal. Wonwoo wanted to get him something special but Wonwoo is no expert in jewelry. So, he dragged Jihoon along, who was excessively depressed about Soonyoung’s new boyfriend.

            “Why did you even bring me, stupid?! I don’t want to listen to you be all mushy and happy about your relationship. It’s gross.” Jihoon pouts.

            “Look, you’re the only one who knows I’m even planning to propose… I know you don’t even really know his preferences, but I don’t know what to do, or who to ask for help…” Wonwoo gives Jihoon the wariest look, almost like he’s scared.

            “One of Mingyu’s friends? What’s his face, the model guy?”

            “Jihoon, Mingyu _is_ a model. All his friends are models. That’s not helping.”

            “No, he’s not a model… Name starts with a J… Jinyoung? Jun… Jung? Jeon…? Agh… Han…?”

            “Jeonghan?”

            “Yes! See you knew!” Jihoon exclaims.

            “Jeonghan… Joshua… I could ask them. They’re his two best friends… Joshua has a big mouth though… Jeonghan might be my best bet.”

            “Perfect! Call one of them, so I can leave.” Jiihoon’s face is twisted into a scowl, and his arms are crossed.

            “Jihoon, is this some lame excuse to ditch me? C’mon, I thought you didn’t want to be in the apartment with Soonyoung.” Wonwoo groans. Jihoon huffs angrily.

            “Listen, Jeon. We do _not_ speak his name. Or about him at all. Or his stupid boyfriend, that’s hot and funny. God, I hate Soonyoung! Why does he get the perfect guys?! Why is he so stupid and blind!?” Jihoon stamps his foot on the sidewalk in frustration.

            “Woah, calm down there, Woozi.” Wonwoo’s voice is a bit joking. “Just help me, please? I don’t know how to do this, and I’m not that close with Jeonghan…”

            “Well still call Jeonghan. Okay? But I guess I’ll stay. It beats apartment searching…”

            So, Wonwoo calls up Jeonghan, and he agrees to help him, after squealing a bit about how his best friend is going to get engaged. It takes him about 20 minutes to meet up with them, and then they’re headed off around the city to search for jewelers.

            “Where do we even start? There’s at least three within two miles of this coffee place… And I don’t even know… What Mingyu would really want…. I know he wants something that’s not huge… and he usually likes jewelry to be like… silver or gray in color, since it ‘matches more stuff’ or whatever... but that’s it. And I know that I don’t want the engagement ring to be a diamond, since I think diamonds are overdone… I know ‘they’re forever’ or whatever they say, but engagements aren’t really what’s forever… the marriage is, right?” Wonwoo runs a hand through his hair, feeling like a mess about this whole thing. “Maybe I’m overthinking this…”

            “Well, for starters, his favorite color is red. So maybe get a ruby for the gem if you don’t want a diamond. And go with a black for the band, tungsten or gunmetal or something. and nothing super big, you’re right. He doesn’t like large jewelry.” Jeonghan gently rests a hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder, trying to reassure him. “And you’re not overthinking anything. You want this to be special for Mingyu.”

            Jihoon nods. “I told you Jeonghan would be better at this than me. I would have told you to suck it up and deal with it.”

            Wonwoo snorts, the tiniest shortest laugh breaking from his body. “Yeah I can tell… Thanks, Jeonghan. Lets start figuring out where we can go that would offer something like that…”

            After about fifteen minutes of looking things up, Jihoon finds a shop on the other side of the city, and they catch a cab and head to the address of the jewelry shop. Upon arrival, the three of them shuffle inside, and they all look a bit like idiots standing there in the doorway, marveling at all the expensive jewelry and gawking at prices on things.

            A perky saleswoman pops up, scaring nearly all three of them, who were all so enthralled with the high society feeling of a jewelry shop. “Hello! My name is Melissa. Can I help you today?”

            “O-oh! Uhm, yes… I’m looking for an engagement ring… I already have something in mind that I think he might like, but… I was just wondering if I could get it just how I want it… Or at least as close as possible…?” Wonwoo stammers, his voice growing ever quieter, as he grows more nervous.

            “Sure! Right this way! Here is our design tool, you can flip through and see each band option, and each stone option, and whether you want initials in it and things like that. I can bring you versions of each band and show you examples of stones and such. Sound good?” she smiles at the three of them, who honestly all look pretty overwhelmed. They just nod in agreement and start looking through the options in the computer catalogue, Jeonghan inputting his opinion now and then, and they finally on a dark, gunmetal band, the outer coating of which is split very thinly on the surface, revealing a hint of a lighter silver underneath, with a large gem and two smaller gems on either side of it, and a silver band inside with Wonwoo’s and Mingyu’s initials on it, and the year. Wonwoo asks about the largest gem being something red, inquiring about it being a ruby, and then having the two smaller gems being diamonds. Melissa complies, and plugs it all into the computer.

            “Your total is $3,645.87, and we have different payment methods, as well… depending on what your financial situation is, we can have you make it in monthly installments, with a one percent interest rate a month…” Wonwoo’s brain glazes over when she starts talking about the financing options and payment methods. Good lord this was so much more than he was expecting. But he didn’t care as much as he would have, had this not been for Mingyu, and keeping his life moving and doing things with Mingyu. Wonwoo wouldn’t grow complacent again.

            “Can I put a down payment on it? So it’s less a month?” Wonwoo looks hopeful.

            “Of course! How much?”

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Wonwoo shoved the last of the bags in the trunk of his and Mingyu’s vintage, pale yellow Volkswagen punch bug car, which they only ever really used in the summer or when they went on trips places. This such occasion was both summer and vacation. They backseat is stuffed with food and beach supplies, and a box of stuff that Wonwoo wouldn’t let Mingyu handle- all the necessary stuff for the proposal night. He had simply told Mingyu that the box was heavy, and Wonwoo didn’t want Mingyu to have to get it, but Mingyu argued that he was the stronger of the two of them anyways. Wonwoo just pouted at him and told him that he wanted to be a gentleman and carry the heavy box for his boyfriend. Mingyu smiled at that and complied to Wonwoo’s wishes.

            “You’re sure Seungkwan is going to come feed Paisley and Chevron? I’m sure if we really tried we could fit an empty litter box in the car and the bag of food?” Mingyu says from the passenger seat, while Wonwoo locks up the house.

            “Yes babe. He’s coming over tonight after his shift to stay and watch the house.” Wonwoo smiles at his boyfriend’s concern for their kitties.

            “Tell him if he wants he can invite Vernon over so he’s not lonely in the apartment! But tell them they can’t have sex on our bed. But they can in the spare bed. It’s just uncomfortable.” Mingyu hasn’t shut up about Seungkwan and Vernon since he found out they had begun dating, and this comment made Wonwoo snort.

            “They wouldn’t do that, Gyu! They’ve been dating for three days now.”

            “Well you made out with me the same night that we met.” Mingyu smirks.

            “Hey! _You_ initiated that make out session, Mr. ‘I Flirt With Everyone When I’m Drunk’. Can’t blame me for that one, I could barely believe someone as hot as you was even talking to me.” Wonwoo laughs and pulls out of the driveway, and they’re off on their latest adventure.  

            Wonwoo pulls up the gravel driveway of the huge cabin and Mingyu’s jaw dropped. “Your aunt _owns_ this place?! Holy shit! This is beautiful!” Mingyu bounces excitedly and the car is barely stopped before he’s jumping out of it, running towards the front door.

            “I don’t know where you’re going babe! I have the keys!” Wonwoo laughs and shuts the car off, and opens all the doors to the punch bug, before he goes over to Mingyu and unlocks the front door for him. Mingyu runs in, like a little kid entering a toy store, the biggest grin on his face, and he begins checking out every room. Wonwoo will admit, the cabin is beautiful. The living room and front entrance is all open, up to the vaulted ceilings, and the stairs lead up to the bedrooms, and the hallway that is half just a railing, where you can see right down into the living room. In the middle of the front wall in the living room sits a gorgeous stone fireplace, and a huge TV. The living room and the kitchen are all open, separated with a marble counter island, and the kitchen is under the upstairs landing. Beside the kitchen is the dining area, where a sliding glass door sits, leading onto the porch, which overlooks the lake, with a small sandy-dirt beach, and a little dock with a canoe attached to it.

            Mingyu is running all over the house, bouncing excitedly. He runs upstairs to the master bedroom and giggles. “Won! This bed is HUGE! The bathroom has a freaking jacuzzi! This is amazing!” Wonwoo is barely on the top step when Mingyu is zipping past him and down to the kitchen, turning down the stairs to the basement. “This has air hockey and foosball and a ping pong table and a pinball machine! WONU THERES WIFI!”

            Wonwoo just finds himself smiling, since Mingyu is smiling, and clearly excited. Wonwoo wants nothing more than for Mingyu to be happy, and he seems to be pretty happy to Wonwoo. Wonwoo just laughs and says ‘that’s great, babe’ before he heads out to the car to start unloading stuff. The first thing he brings out is the box that he doesn’t want Mingyu to mess with, and sticks it in one of the closets in the spare bedrooms, so Mingyu doesn’t get curious and start looking for it. Wonwoo can hear the sound of the pinball machine going downstairs in the basement, and he smiles, glad that Mingyu has found something to entertain himself. And he’s only the tiniest bit salty that he has to unload the car by himself, but he just laughs it off.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            The boys arrived on Sunday morning, and it was now Tuesday. It rained all day Monday, so the boys spent their day watching romance movies and in Wonwoo’s case, reading books. They stayed cuddled up on the couch with the fireplace going to make things more cozy, and then they took a nice relaxing bath in the evening.

            Today, Wonwoo woke up to sunlight streaming through the curtains, and smiled. Today he had a small hike planned up to the bluffs, and a little picnic for the two of them. He wiggled his way from Mingyu’s loose, sleeping grip, and slipped downstairs to make his boyfriend some breakfast, as well as to gather their lunch for the afternoon. Just as Wonwoo was finishing up cooking, he feels Mingyu’s arms wrap around his waist, and he nuzzles his face in the back of Wonwoo’s shoulder.

            “Good morning, love. We’re going on a hike today, okay? I just finished making some breakfast for us, so you’d better eat up!” He kisses Mingyu’s cheek, not caring about morning breath, and scoops some of the eggs and bacon onto a plate for him, before he sends him to the island to sit and eat. “Do you want milk to drink or orange juice?”

            “Hmm… Orange juice.” Mingyu mumbles, still not awake. Wonwoo gladly pours him a glass and then makes himself a plate and pours a glass of milk for himself. The two of them eat in a happy, comfortable silence, just enjoying the company of one another. Shortly after breakfast, he has Mingyu load the dishwasher, and goes up to brush his teeth and wash his face, and then gets dressed in some joggers and an old, holey _Fall Out Boy_ shirt, which he had cut the sleeves off of years ago. He also grabs one of the bandanas he had brought and shoves it in his pocket, figuring he’d probably be sweating.

            Mingyu slips into the room quietly and goes to the bathroom to brush his own teeth and wash his face as well. He comes out in just his underwear. “What do I wear?” He asks, looking to Wonwoo. Wonwoo gestures to what he’s wearing.

            “Probably something similar. I packed your favorite sweat pants, a pair of your running shorts, and another pair of my joggers, if you want to wear those and not risk dirtying your favorite sweat pants. I also grabbed a couple of your workout t-shirts. And you’ll want either your sneakers, or I bought you a pair of hiking boots, but today’s trail isn’t the rocky one of the two paths. I’m just wearing my sneakers. Also, here’s a bandana, you’ll want to bring it to mop up some sweat.”

            Mingyu grimaces at the mention of sweat, but picks out his clothes regardless, and dresses quickly. He opts to use the bandana as a headband to keep his hair back, and follows Wonwoo downstairs, who has a backpack with water bottles, bug spray, sunscreen, and the blanket for the picnic, and the picnic basket.

            “Which would you like to carry, love?” Mingyu points to the picnic basket, and Wonwoo hands it to him, putting the backpack on and his sneakers, as does Mingyu, and then they’re off on their hike.

            Mingyu spends quite a bit of time squeaking about bugs, during the hike, and a lot more taking pictures of plants he sees. He also makes Wonwoo stop a lot so he can take pictures of ‘his brave, sweaty boyfriend, who’s conquering the wilderness, and leading Mingyu to his certain doom,’ and Wonwoo complains each time, saying how he doesn’t have eyeliner on today, and how he didn’t do his hair, and that he’s gross and sweaty. But he gives in to Mingyu’s puppy eyes every time, and lets him snap the photos. The two of them finally reach the end of the trail, which opens to a large grassy meadow, which is smattered with wild flowers, and drops off in 30-foot cliffs, and drops into the lake on one side, and the ocean on the other. Mingyu’s jaw drops again, in shock

            “Wonwoo this is beautiful…” he smiles. Wonwoo beams and sets the backpack down, pulling out the quilted blanket, and lays it out, checking the time on his phone, while Mingyu looks around taking pictures happily. It’s almost 1:30 in the afternoon, which is good considering they left at about 10:15, and they had to stop every ten minutes for Mingyu to take pictures.

            Wonwoo didn’t mind that.

            He went over to pick up the picnic basket from where Mingyu had set it, and started unpacking the basket, revealing the sandwiches and the fruit that he had cut up for the two of them to eat, and the spare few water bottles that the two of them hadn’t drank on the walk. Mingyu wanders over to join his boyfriend, and they sit and they both happily dig into the lunch. After lunch, they lay in the grass on the blanket and just watch the clouds for a while, and talk about life.

            “Wonu!” Mingyu shouts, and Wonwoo barely has time to look over at the other, before Mingyu is laying on top of him and giggling.

            “What are you doing, babe?” Wonwoo laughs and he’s answered when Mingyu just takes his face and kisses him. Wonwoo can’t help but smile at this, because Mingyu gets a lot more touchy-feely when he’s happy but not so energetic. His hands settle on Mingyu’s hips, and Mingyu deepens the kiss, making butterflies bounce around in his stomach.

            No matter what, Wonwoo always gets all fluttery and blushy and soft inside when Mingyu kisses him like this. The kiss didn’t go anywhere, but they laid there kissing for a few minutes, occasionally slipping a tongue in here and there, but it wasn’t a needy kiss. It was relaxed, and soft and loving.

            Wonwoo was making out with his boyfriend on the bluffs. And he couldn’t be happier.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            They hiked back when it was almost 3 in the afternoon, and didn’t arrive home until almost 6, both of them exhausted. They both decided to take a quick shower, and just relax for the rest of the evening. After their showers, they got out some snacks to munch on, neither of them really wanted to have an actual meal at this point.

            Wonwoo lays in the hammock, with his book, and Mingyu lays next to Wonwoo in the hammock, with his head on Wonwoo’s chest, and they watch the sunset in the distance, over the water. Shortly after, they both head to bed, happy and snuggly and full.

            Wednesday is a blur, beginning with some lazy morning sex, and neither of them make an effort to get out of bed until almost 11, and when they finally do, Mingyu announces he’s making breakfast, which is cereal and leftover fruit from yesterday’s lunch. They both go for a swim during the day, and then set up the volleyball net on the beach, and have a half-assed game of volleyball between the two of them. In the evening, they cook on the grill outside, and then have a campfire, playing some card games, and then roast some s’mores.

            Wonwoo plans another hike for Thursday, and Mingyu whines a lot more on this hike, and its clear he’s starting to grow antsy with being out in the wilderness. This hike is rocky and a bit wet from a small rain shower that passed through in the night. The two of them end up down at the bottom of the bluffs this time, and it’s a much shorter hike than the previous one, and they go for a swim in the deeper water, which is still just as crystal clear as by the beach at the cabin, and they can actually see the cabin from here, and they spend most of the afternoon swimming.

            In the evening, Mingyu announces he’s going to town tomorrow, and he offers to stop in and check on the cats and pick up any food they may need, as well as take a load of dirty clothes home to be washed. Wonwoo complies, smiling, deciding that would be the perfect time to get set up for the proposal, and reminds Mingyu that he owes him a new sweater, so he could do that while he’s in town. He texts Jihoon and Jeonghan, who are both in on his plan, one of which is going to distract Mingyu if Wonwoo isn’t done setting up, and the other is supposed to come and help set up.

            The two of them watch the sunset from the balcony outside the master bedroom, and take another bath in the jacuzzi, and have another round of sex, before they both fall asleep, happy.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Wonwoo wakes up in the morning to an empty bed, and he wanders downstairs to find Mingyu watching some reality TV show, still in his pajamas. Wonwoo smiles and lays next to him, with his head on Mingyu’s lap. “Sick of the outdoors?” Wonwoo laughs a little, and Mingyu just nods, seemingly enthralled with this reality show, which normally he hates. “Have you had breakfast yet?” Mingyu nods.

            “Yep. Lucky Charms. I’m gonna head out at like 2 or 3, today. Spend some time in town.”

            “Sounds good love. I’ll be here. I’ll probably read or swim or something.”

            “Okay!” Mingyu smiles and begins to play with Wonwoo’s hair. For now, though, they snuggle on the couch and watch reality TV.

            3 rolls around, and Mingyu is out the door, heading to the city. Wonwoo grabs his phone and calls Jeonghan, asking for his help setting up. He runs to get the box of stuff, and brings it outside, before he starts looking through the shed for the archway that his aunt uses to decorate in the fall, which is made up of bundles of branches and interwoven with fake fall colored leaves. Wonwoo begins untangling the leaves from the sticks, and upon finally getting them out, he wraps it in fairy lights, and gets it set up in the grass just next to the beach.

            Next, he sets up the little round table from the porch underneath the arch, along with two of the dining chairs from inside. By now, Jeonghan has arrived, and he pulls up, marveling at the cabin just as Mingyu had done.

            “This place is insane! You need to invite all the guys out here! We could all vacation together. This would be sick!” Jeonghan exclaims, tearing his eyes from the cabin to look at Wonwoo. Wonwoo nods and begins giving him instructions for what to do.

            “That hiking trail! I need you to go through and find as many wild flowers as you can from the field at the top and put them in this vase. Leave the stems. They’ll need to be woven into the arch. And put daisies in this separate vase. They’ll need to be put into a separate vase, so we can make flower crowns. Don’t ask, long story.” Wonwoo thrusts the two vases into Jeonghan’s hand, as well as a few water bottles for him to drink. He nods, beaming, and hurries off to get started on dinner.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Mingyu had stopped at home, to see the kittens, for a few minutes, and then he chatted with Seungkwan for an hour, and now he finds himself wandering the mall, Wonwoo’s card in his wallet, in search of a new sweater, even though he didn’t like sweaters.

            Well, it’s not that he didn’t like sweaters, he was comfortable in them, and they were just clothes to him. He just liked when Wonwoo wore his sweaters. Which he usually did. If Wonwoo wasn’t wearing a band t-shirt, he was wearing a sweater. And usually the sweaters were Mingyu’s.

            Mingyu doesn’t mind this, though. He thinks Wonwoo looks cute in sweaters, especially Mingyu’s sweaters. The sweaters make Wonwoo look happy, and when Wonwoo is happy, Mingyu is happy. He loves seeing his boyfriend happy.

            Mingyu notices he’s stopped and is standing outside the jewelry store. He’s not sure why he’s here, he just knows he is. Something inside tells him to take a look around, so he does. He looks through all the fancy necklaces, and all the bracelets that are full of jewels and gems. And that’s when Mingyu sees it. A ring, a simple, silver band, with a tiny sapphire in the middle of it. Mingyu can’t help but think of Wonwoo when he sees it.

            His eyes are torn away from the ring when his phone starts buzzing in his pocket, and he notices it’s Jihoon. He was expecting Wonwoo, perhaps asking him to grab something. Mingyu slides his finger across the screen to answer it, brows furrowing in concern. “Hello?”

            “Hey! Mingyu… Uh… Sorry to call you, but I was wondering if you wanted to come look at an apartment with me… I have to get away from Soonyoung… I can’t keep pining over him.”

            “I mean, I’m on vacation… Technically. Why didn’t you call Wonwoo?”

            “He wouldn’t answer! But if you guys are on vacation that explains it… Sorry for asking, I totally forgot you guys were away.”

            “How!? You’ve had to run the shop since Wonwoo’s been gone.”

            “I thought you guys came back last night! It’s not Saturday?”

            “No, it’s Friday! And we come back Sunday, you weirdo. Wait, you didn’t open the shop _at all_ today?!”

            “…Shit, no… I mean it’s five now, so it’s almost closing time anyways. Sorry for calling, I guess. I’ll let you go enjoy your vacation…”

            “Wait! Jihoon! I’ll go with you to look at the apartment. So long as you pick me up at the mall. I have to get something…”

            “Alright sounds good!” Jihoon says, and then the line is dead, and Mingyu puts the phone away, looking down at the ring in the display case. He asks about the price, and starts thinking about how he’s going to save up for it.

            He’d give it to Wonwoo someday, and they’d get engaged. He loved that idea.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            “Why did I have to put a button down and slacks on to go to a fricking apartment walkthrough with you?” Mingyu hisses through his teeth, very confused as to why Jihoon pulled up to get him and shoved a pile of clothes into his arms and ushered him to the bathroom in the mall.

            “Because! It’s a penthouse, and it’s for fancy people… I want to look fancy. Please just go with it.” Jihoon states. “Besides, you look good.”

            And that’s it, that’s all he says, before he tugs Mingyu into the apartment building after him. They make it to the elevator and head to the elevator, and ride up to the top floor, where an open house is being held for a penthouse. It wasn’t particularly big, nor was it super modern, but it was considered ‘fancy’ enough for most of the people visiting the open house to all look like they made big bucks.

            Mingyu and Jihoon wander through the apartment, looking around the two bedrooms and the bathroom. Jihoon occasionally nods and comments on things, but honestly both of them look lost.

            “Jihoon this is stupid. This apartment is probably too much money a month anyways.” Mingyu mutters. It was nearing 6:30, and Mingyu had promised Wonwoo that he’d be back for dinner, and he still had to be dropped back at the mall by Jihoon so he could drive the beetle back to the cabin.

            “I’ve saved up quite a bit recently, so don’t tell me what I can and can’t afford.” Jihoon says matter-of-factly. Mingyu huffs and crosses his arms, before he pulls out his phone to text Wonwoo and let him know that he’s stuck with Jihoon, looking at an apartment. Wonwoo responds quickly, letting him know that it’s okay, and that he wasn’t cooking yet.

            Wonwoo is currently cooking dinner. It would be done in the next half hour or so, and upon receiving the text from Mingyu that Woozi was keeping him back, texts Jihoon to tell him that he was almost done with dinner and that Jeonghan had just finished decorating the archway. Jihoon lets him know that he’d let Mingyu go free then, and that’s the end of that.

            Wonwoo hurries out to set the table, covering it in a white table cloth that his aunt had, that is embroidered with little flowers all over it, and puts the plates down. He carefully sets all the silverware around the plates before asking Jeonghan to check dinner while he runs upstairs to change.

            He changes quickly, into the black silk button down shirt that Mingyu had bought him for his birthday a few years ago, the one that he’d said he had to buy because Wonwoo never wore anything but band shirts and stolen sweaters and cardigans. He’d added the part about how hot Wonwoo would look in said button down, with a tiny giggle. Wonwoo smiles fondly as he remembers that, while he slips into his light gray dress pants. He then works on fixing his hair, so it’s sort of slicked back out of his face, and then stares in the mirror, feeling as though he was missing something.

            Eyeliner. His signature look. Very carefully, he puts just a thin line around his eye, and smiles, thinking about how good he looks for once. Wonwoo then takes a deep breath and checks his bedside table for the tiny velvet box with the ring in it, and shoves it into his pocket, before rolling his sleeves up to his elbows and running downstairs.

            “Okay! I’m dressed! Do I look okay?” He looks to Jeonghan, who turns away from the boiling pasta, and smiles at him.

            “You look great! Mingyu will be so happy to see you all dressed up.” Jeonghan doesn’t lie, he’s physically incapable of lying, so Wonwoo knows he’s being genuine.

            “Thanks… Do you want to go plug the lights in for me? I can finish cooking here. Oh! And then can you grab me the bucket of ice and put the wine in it? Please?” Wonwoo resumes his place at the stove and continues dinner. Jeonghan complies, before leaving to complete his tasks.

            Wonwoo manages to get the food all set up in fancy dishes, making a fettuccine alfredo, with a slow roasted chicken, and broccoli. He was proud of himself, it was one of Mingyu’s favorite dishes, saying that it reminded him of Italy, even though he had never been to Italy. It was his dream vacation spot. He quickly brings the dishes outside, and sets them on the table, seeing that Jeonghan had completed his task. Wonwoo sees the daisies in the vase on the porch, and quickly hurries over to weave them into two circles.

            Neither of them is as good as Mingyu had made the one for Wonwoo, but Wonwoo gave it his best shot, because that was one of his favorite memories he had with Mingyu. It was one of the first times he stopped being complacent about his relationship, and he could tell that it made Mingyu happy- happier than Wonwoo had seen him in a while, at least. Mingyu was almost always happy. Unless they were watching a dog movie, then he always cried.

            Wonwoo panics when he hears Jeonghan leaving, thinking that it’s Mingyu pulling in, but calms just a bit when he realizes what the sound actually is. He waves to Jeonghan, and then heads inside to pull dessert out of the freezer- chocolate covered strawberries. It’s cliché, he knows, but It’s all he could think of. He then kicks off the slippers he was wearing and puts on his bright red Converse, adding yet another Wonwoo flare to his dressy get up.

            That’s when he hears the car. The sound of the old punch bug rolling into the driveway.

            And he panics.

            His eyes widen, feeling his heart race, whether because of nerves, or because of excitement, he didn’t know. But Mingyu was _here._ Wonwoo scrambles out the backdoor, and runs around to the driveway to meet Mingyu, but remembers that he forgot the daisy crowns he’d made, and runs back to grab those. He hears Mingyu’s door open, and he runs back, this time with the crowns in his hand.

            “Gyu!” Wonwoo calls out to his boyfriend, who turns to see him coming around the side of the house, a confused look on his face.

            “Wonu, why are you all dressed up? Not that you don’t look good, because… You look gorgeous, but… Are those flower crowns?” Mingyu looks his boyfriend up and down, feeling confused.

            “They’re not as good as you made them, but I tried… Like that walk we went on, the day we got the kittens?” Wonwoo offers a smile, one that’s a bit nervous, and his cheeks are tinged pink.

            “They’re great!” Mingy beams. “But why are you dressed up?”

            “I made us dinner! A romantic one!” Wonwoo’s expression looks more shy each minute, but still happy.

            “Is that really why Jihoon took me to the apartment tour? And made me wear my good clothes?”

            “Yep! Now come on. Put your crown on and come with me…” Wonwoo hands him one of the daisy chains, and places the other on his own head, before he holds his hand out for Mingyu to take. Mingyu beams and plops the crown on his head, and accepts Wonwoo’s hand, letting him lead Mingyu to the backyard.

            Mingyu’s jaw drops when he sees the back yard. The porch is wrapped in fairy lights, and vines, with some sort of fake leaves on them, but it still looked gorgeous. He looks around at the table, which is under the arch woven with more lights and flowers, and the smell of alfredo sauce hits his nose. His shocked expression grows into one of delight.

            “Wonwoo! This is beautiful!” He tugs his boyfriend into a hug, squealing a bit.

            “Thanks! I had planned to do it while you went to town…” Wonwoo is smiling now too, hugging Mingyu close.

            “Let’s eat! I’m starving!” Mingyu breaks away from Wonwoo, ignoring the fact that he could feel Wonwoo’s heart beating out of his chest. Wonwoo complies, following Mingyu to the dinner table.

            The two eat dinner happily, after a quick toast of their wine glasses, which consists of Wonwoo saying ‘ _to adventures_ ’, and them clinking their glasses together. Mingyu has a huge grin on his face the whole time, and they chat about whatever comes to their minds, content in the company of one another.

            Wonwoo pours them each a second glass when they’ve been emptied and holds his hand out for Mingyu to take it. The two of them walk down to the hammock, climbing in and snuggling up, watching the sunset down over the lake.

            “This is beautiful, Won.” Mingyu says quietly. His head is on Wonwoo’s chest, and he can hear Wonwoo’s heart beating faster than it usually does. He doesn’t question it, and he hasn’t since they’ve been sitting here. The sun is almost down now,

            “Thank you… I didn’t know I had it in me to be this romantic, though…” Wonwoo chuckles a little, and it almost comes off as anxious to Mingyu.

            “Well you do. This is quite possibly the most romantic thing I’ve ever experienced. Barely beating the time that I lost my virginity in the backseat of my second boyfriend’s car in college after a frat party.” Mingyu giggles, obviously joking, hoping that it eases whatever nerves Wonwoo is having about this night. Wonwoo laughs too, but it’s not his normal laugh. It’s a bit forced, almost. Mingyu can feel himself growing concerned.

            “Thanks, I’m glad I beat that out,” Wonwoo chuckles, and then lets out a tiny puff of breath. “Want dessert? I just have to go grab it off the counter inside.”

            “Sure! I wanna see what you made me.” Mingyu giggles, kissing Wonwoo’s cheek, and then slips from the hammock. “I’ll wait for you at the dinner table.” He says, before he heads back down to the arch and table. Wonwoo wiggles his way out of the cocoon of a hammock, and heads inside to get the tray of strawberries. The tiny box in his pocket feels heavy, and his mind races with thoughts.

_What if Mingyu rejects him? What if Mingyu decides that he wants a better proposal? What if Mingyu isn’t ready?_

Wonwoo’s palms are sweaty (but there’s none of mom’s spaghetti), and his heart is racing. His knees feel wobbly, as his proposal approaches. The moon is beginning to rise now, the sun completely gone over the horizon.

            “Just focus on not dropping dessert, Jeon…” Wonwoo mutters to himself, doing his best to focus on the task at hand. He makes it out, seeing that Mingyu is pouring them both a third glass of the wine, before he looks up and smiles at Wonwoo’s dessert choice.

            “Chocolate-covered strawberries?! My, am I in for a treat!” Mingyu lets out another giggle, and Wonwoo can tell he’s just the tiniest bit tipsy now.

            “Yep! Special for you.” Wonwoo sets the tray down and holds a strawberry up for Mingyu to bite, and he does, gladly, letting out a happy hum.

            “Mmm! Delicious!” Mingyu gives him a closed-mouth smile as he chews up his dessert. The two of them make a good dent on the tray of food, before Wonwoo suggests a walk. Mingyu complies, and they leave the cups of wine behind, and ditch their shoes and socks, walking hand-in-hand down the beach, chatting happily. After a few minutes, they reach the little row boat, which Wonwoo had Jeonghan fill with flower petals, and place a little string of battery-powered fairy lights.

            “What’s in the boat?” Mingyu asks.

            “Some stuff so we could take a little boat ride. I thought you might want to go out on the lake with me… We wouldn’t go far, since it’s just man-powered, but I thought we could star gaze on the boat…?” Wonwoo looks hopeful, and Mingyu beams, accepting his hand and climbing into the boat. Wonwoo gives it a push to get it off the beach, and quickly hops in, before he grabs the oars and starts rowing them out in the water. He keeps the little lantern he bought for them to light hidden behind him, and Mingyu just smiles and babbles to him, telling him what a lovely night he’s had.

            After a good two minutes of rowing, Wonwoo is sputtering, saying something about being a weakling and complaining that he’s out of shape, but they’re in a good spot in the lake. Mingyu promises to row back, and then Wonwoo looks to him, asking if he wants to lay out in the bottom of the boat and look at the stars.

            “Of course! I love star-gazing.” Mingyu beams and the two of them manage to shift so they’re lying next to one another in the tiny space, staring up at the sky. “Look at how many of them you can see! You’re lucky to see even one in the city! They’re so pretty!” Mingyu’s smiling brightly, his happiness brighter than the light of the moon reflecting off the water on them. Wonwoo isn’t playing attention to the stars, just smiling softly at Mingyu’s face. They lay there for a few minutes, happy with just being together, their fingers intertwined. Wonwoo tears his eyes away from Mingyu’s face and looks up at the moon and all the stars. They stay like that for who-knows how long, with Wonwoo humming a tune quietly to himself, and just staring into the sky. Finally, Wonwoo manages to sit up, and pulls out the little lantern he got.

            “Look what I bought!” He holds it up, and Mingyu sits up to see, beaming.

            “Oh my gosh! Wonu that’s wonderful! Let’s send it up! C’mon!” Mingyu starts tearing open the packaging and gets it all unfolded. Wonwoo laughs at how eager Mingyu is. Mingyu holds onto it while Wonwoo grabs the lighter and lights the little circle at the bottom, and then sets his hand over Mingyu’s while they give it a little push, and send it floating up into the sky over the water. Mingyu watches it in awe, not noticing Wonwoo shifting around.

            _This is it, Jeon. The make or break moment of the night…_

Wonwoo manages to get down on one knee without tipping the boat, and tugs the box out of his pocket, fumbling to get it open. Mingyu takes a few moments more before he looks over to Wonwoo, about to ask what he’s doing, and then gasps when he sees Wonwoo.

            “So… This is what tonight was about… And this whole trip, really… I just… I was thinking about it, when I panicked about being complacent…? I realized I didn’t want to lose you… I don’t think I would have lost you at any point, though, you’re pretty tall…” Wonwoo chuckles, hoping his lame joke would lighten his own nerves, before continuing. “Lame jokes aside, I love you more than anything. That night I realized that I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else, and I know tonight was…

            “Look- I tried so hard to make it special to us, and original, because you’re special. You’re not like anyone else on Earth, and that’s how I wanted tonight to be… special to us… That’s what the crowns were about, and the boat ride… I know it was still slightly rom-com cheesy, with the strawberries and the walk on the beach and stuff, but I’m really bad with sentiment…All cheesiness aside, would you be a gouda boyfriend and say yes?” Wonwoo is gazing up at Mingyu, who’s crying now, and Wonwoo starts to panic.

            _Why the FUCK is Mingyu CRYING?!_

But then Mingyu nods happily and holds his hand out for Wonwoo to slip the ring on.

            “Of course I’ll marry you, you doofus… I can’t believe you just asked for my hand in marriage with a fucking cheese-related pun… Please stand up so I can hug you…” Mingyu is laughing breathily through his happy tears, and Wonwoo stands up on wobbly knees, sliding the ring onto Mingyu’s finger. Mingyu tackles his boyfriend into a hug, squeezing him a bit.

            And then the boat tips over.

-     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -

            Somehow, they upright the boat, rowing back to the shore, laughing the whole way.  They head into the bathroom and shuck their clothes onto the floor, still laughing, out of giddiness, and probably from the wine, and then Mingyu is kissing him.

            It’s one of _those_ kisses, the kind that gives Wonwoo butterflies in his stomach and makes his heart race. It’s a kiss that’s loving and happy and soft. Like he’s being kissed for the first time all over again.

            Wonwoo is so glad he’s found the one.


End file.
